It had been an hour after her bath and Charlie was already fighting her tiredness. All that walking and crying and bathing exhausted her. Nothing appeared more relaxing than a good night's sleep in that moment. And it didn't help that it was already dark outside, it started to rain and she was wrapped inside a warm and comfy bed as the sounds of the firepit grazed her ears.

"No." Morpheus glanced at her every once in while as he read a book about curses. He had gone downstairs after helping Miss Denver out of the bath and let her change into a pair of his sweats. He had dressed up her wounds and went back to his father's room in order to successfully acquire the keys to his office. He came back upstairs with a bunch of promising books almost half an hour ago and was close to be done with the first one already.

"I know. I'm trying. It's just- boring." She said for lack of better words.
"I could help you read those books." She offered, sitting up a little and glancing at the top book of the huge pile he had brought upstairs and placed on the bed next to her. Morpheus was seated right next to said pile on the bed, not even a meter away from Charlie.

"You couldn't. They are in ancient Greek letters." He said, before looking up at her.
"Unless you know how to read those." His voice sounded hopeful, but she was afraid she had to disappoint him.
"Sorry." He shrugged in return and resumed reading.
"But isn't there a bunch of myths about sleepwalking in-" She was determined to be helpful one way or another.

"Not every myth is based on a true story, Miss Denver. A lot of stories have never found the light of fame, since they weren't ever supposed to be read by society. So what you have in front of you are a variety of scriptures about curses. And some about sleepwalking. Some about demons, some about ghosts. All of which were found in diaries or simple letters." Morpheus shook his head. He sounded close to offended that she even suggested a simple myth with no proof of ever really happening.
"So no matter what myth you might think helpful, it's not. Only facts can give us more insight on what's going on with you." He looked back into his book.

Charlie looked around in his room after sighingin defeat, trying to find anyhting that she could use to pass some time. But everything in his room was kind of boring. There was no computer, no TV. All she saw was bookshelves filled with books and some decorative items. His walls were a boring, yet kind of comforting shade of beige. He had close to no pictures up, except for one on his desk that was a little too far away for Charlie to see completely. If her feet didn't hurt like that, she would stand up and get closer.

"What's that picture on your desk?" She asked Morpheus, hearing him sigh.
"My mother and I." He said as he flipped the page.
"Can I see it?" She asked him, hoping he wasn't creeped out by that. She wanted to see his mother, whose looks she could not even remotely imagine. But Morpheus did not look that much like his father, so she was kind of interested to see where he got his outlandish features from.

"Fine." He sighed again, clearly annoyed by her constant intervening. He stood up anyway and neared his desk. He glanced at the old picture of his mother and him, a small smile overcame him. But he shook his head and made sure to wipe off said smile before he turned around and went back to Miss Denver. He handed it over and went back to his reading, hoping she would stop talking now.

"Morpheus, your mom is beautiful." Charlie gasped. The picture seemed to have been taken on a soccer field. She didn't know Morpheus used to play socker. He seemed to be around five when that photo was taken. If he hadn't told her that it was him and his mother, he would never have thought it was him. The boy in the picture wore green soccer shorts that went along with his green and white striped soccer shirt. Under his arm, he carried a black and white soccer ball. But what surprised Charlie even more than the beautiful woman next to him, was the huge grin that the boy in the picture wore.

"I know. And it's was. She was beautiful." He corrected her.
"What happened?" Charlie was being nosey, she realized as soon as she asked him.
"None of your business." Fair enough, she thought and looked back at the picture. He looked so proud with his little boyish grin. And so did his mother. She looked just as proud with her modest smile.

His mother did look exotic, just like she figured. Her skin was caramel, maybe a couple of shades darker than Morpheus'. Her curly hair was long and super voluminous. Morpheus inherited her rather plump lips and her petite nose. But her eyes were different. They looked lighter than brown, but not green. Maybe yellow-ish golden? It was hard to tell.

But just by looking at that photo, Charlie had a slight insight of what kind of mother she might have been. She was probably very patient with him, seeing as his clothes were filthy as heck. She figured his mother often read him bedtime stories and let him be a kid. But she also looked like a respected woman, just the way she posed. Maybe sometimes, his mother was very strict too. But, probably not like Charlie's own parents. She sighed and looked at Morpheus.

"Have you found something yet?" She asked, knowing another question of his mother would probably not be answered in that moment. Maybe she will get the chance to know him better in Ailavu. They would have to spend at least three days there, seeing as the flight alone took them almost a whole day. But then again, why did she even bother asking? She knew that he was going to erase her memory.

"No. It is rather hard for me to concentrate." He said, closing the first book that he finished reading already.
"I'm sorry, I'm trying really hard not to fall asleep right now. Oh, do you think I could call my mom from your phone?  Mine is at home still in my purse, probably out of battery again." She sighed, looking at him expectantly.

"The house phone is downstairs in the lobby." Was all he said before picking up the second book and Charlie nodded, before finally having an idea that could prevent her from falling asleep.

As Charlie made her way down, she felt as if she was in a movie. This house was truly something else. Every room she had been in so far was neatly decorated and had a special effect of warmth and comfort as soon as she entered. Maybe it was the wooden floors and doors or the beige, red, brown and dark green walls. The persian carpet beneath her feet when she passed through the hallway. It also lead down the wooden stairs that she had to use in order to get to the lobby.

Once her eyes found the telephone, she gasped. Wow. It was golden too, obviously. And it was one that they used in the 40's, maybe 50's. She has not ever used one like that. It excited her, but also confused her. If she was being honest, Morpheus and Hypnos seemed to kind of be stuck in time. All the old school accessories here. The fact that she has not seem a single TV in any room first positively surprised her, but now she wondered if maybe Hypnos just didn't want Morpheus to be exposed to too much. To have him experience too much of the actual modernized world. She wondered if he even knew Google Maps existed.

But that was a question for another day, she thought as she eventually reached out for the telephone. Okay, how to use this, now? Charlie tried to remember those movies that she was obsessed with as a child. Together with her parents, they always had one movie night each week and it was often a black and white classic. But for some reason as she tried to remember anything specific from her childhood, her memory was blurry. It was something she noticed lately. And she was afraid to tell Morpheus, because she had a slight feeling it was also a side effect of his 'treatment'.

"Okay." Charlie murmured as she picked up the phone on top of the keyboard thing. She really didn't know how any of the telephone parts were called, but it didn't matter. Important was that she had an inkling of how to call someone on that device. So she stuck her forefinger into the zero and turned it, hearing a sound she has only heard in one of those old classics before. Question was if that telephone even worked. The condition looked good, but what if it didn't even work anymore? It didn't matter, she shook her head and stuck her finger into the other figures, obviously in the order of her mother's phone number. And then she placed the phone next to her ear. And she listened- nothing.

"Great." She placed the phone back onto its second part with more force than probably necessary. Very freaking great. Charlie shook her head once again, hoping her mother wasn't all too worried about her. She knew exactly how that would end. Last time she missed family dinner and her mom came up to her apartment, she had excuses. But now, what the heck was a plausible excuse? Sorry mom, I started sleepwalking recently and found myself in a strange house located somewhere deep in the woods.

The more Charlie thought about it, the more she was thankful for the defective telephone. At least she had more time to make something up now. With another sigh, she made her way back upstairs to Morpheus' room. Oh how much she wanted to just wander around and look into all the rooms she passed. But that was rude, even her curiosity couldn't convince her to do that. Besides, she was kind of intimidated by the silence and the rather dark demeanor this house beheld. Nothing would surprise her at that point. Not even a room full of snakes and spiders. So, she better just stick to Morpheus' room, which was interesting enough on its own.

"Your telephone doesn't work." Charlie announced her presence as soon as she saw him sitting in the exact spot he was when she left. From her view, he looked really sophisticated as he studied word for word. All the did was nod and Charlie walked over to look over his shoulder. Her eyes widened.
"Morpheus-"

"Miss Denver, I'm trying to read here." His eyes didn't leave the book as he turned his head to his shoulder ever so slightly.
"I know and-"
"And I would like you to stop distracting me. I would also prefer if you do so while not looking over my shoulder. I do not like that." He stood up, walking away from her. She was too close to him. Something happened.

He noticed so as soon as he had to carry her out of the bath tub as she messily covered herself with a towel. He didn't mean to look, but her breast was pressed against his and he didn't know how to act. But that was only the tip of the iceberg. As soon as he had helped her settle down onto his bed, her towel undid itself and he saw her left nipple. He was sure she didn't notice, but now he couldn't get that image out of his head. She did something to him. That something was comparable to Odysseus' travels when he crossed the path of seductive sirens. He could now imagine what seductive actually meant.

And that was not good. That was a no-go. He could not want her in any way! It was forbidden. Like the forbidden fruit that-
"Morpheus, did you hear me?" He suddenly heard and looked to his left. When did she get this close again?
"Miss Denver, what did I tell you? Do not bother me." He cleared his throat and went back to his previous seat, desperately hoping she would keep her distance.

"What is up with you? You're being really rude right now. I said, I can-"
"You're the one that's rude. I told you that what I'm doing is important. And unless you want to help, which you can't-"
"But that's what I'm trying to tell you!" She interrupted, throwing her arms up in desperation of being heard.

He watched her movement and then cursed himself for giving her a pair of grey sweatpants and the matching sweatshirt. He regretted that particular colour now, since he figured if he would've given her the black pair, he would not have noticed the way her braless breasts bounced underneath the clothing. He needed to stop this.

"I can read the book you're reading." She finished and granted, it did make him stop thinking about her breasts.
"What?" Morpheus had to reassure himself that he heard her right.

"When I stood behind you, I suddenly knew what each word meant. Almost as if I've read it my whole life. Which I'm pretty sure I didn't. Or maybe?" She now had a hard time trusting her own words as she was struggling to even remember anything longer ago than a few years. What was happening?
"You're not funny." Morpheus scoffed.

"Fine, I guess I'll have to show you then." She said, stepping closer to him. His eyes widened and he stood back up, holding his hands in front of him.
"Okay, then you can help me find a case similiar to yours. Go on." He showed her the pile of books on the bed.

Charlie narrowed her eyes at him. That was weird. He was acting really weird.
"What is up with you?" She now had her hands on her hips, looking at him with suspicion. Morpheus gulped.
"You're being even more rude than usually." She stepped forward.

"I- I am not. I am trying to read and you keep interrupting me. It's almost as if you didn't want to ever sleep again." He was right, she thought. It was her turn to gulp now.

With a nod, she simply ignored his weirdness and sat down on the chair that he had just occupied before jumping up like a mad man.

"I was sitting there." He told her, staring at her like a scowling teacher. But Charlie just shrugged and picked up a book from the bed. She heard him mutter something under his breath as he sat down on the bed, the furthest away from her as possible.

"Weirdo." Was all she commented before the two eventually resumed reading in comfortable silence.

Well, for now.